Image courtesy of the Norton Museum of Art
What comes to mind when you think of Palm Beach County – Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton and Delray Beach? Sunbathing and dining out? Yes, please enjoy that, but don’t miss the happening art scene in The Palm Beaches, as it’s also called!
Check out the outstanding Jean-Paul Basquiat “Untitled (Prophet I)” (shown above) in West Palm Beach’s Norton Museum of Art.
Image Courtesy of the Norton Museum of Art
I was pleasantly surprised to love the “Strike Fast, Dance Lightly: Artists on Boxing” exhibition at the Norton, which runs through March 9, 2025.
Roy Lichtenstein’s “Sweet Dreams, Baby!” is one of the many exciting paintings there.
Image Courtesy of the Hispanic Society Museum and Library
The “Sorolla and the Sea” exhibition, on loan from the Hispanic Society Museum and Library in New York City, is up through April 13, 2025. Famed Spanish impressionist, Joaquin Sorolla, delights with paintings like “After the Bath.”
Don’t miss The Restaurant at the Norton for lunch or dinner. Try the delicious Faroe Island Salmon with black lentils, hearts of palm ceviche, and mango beurre blanc. The crispy, salmon skin on top was outstanding!
Catch Art After Dark every Friday at the Norton for live performances, film screenings and art workshops.
Image Courtesy of The Hispanic Society Museum and Library
The Boca Raton Museum of Art also has an exhibition on loan from the Hispanic Society: “Splendor and Passion: Baroque Spain and its Empire.” The two museums are hosting the exhibitions in honor of Palm Beach County‘s Spanish influence.
“Las Meninas from an Artificial Light” by Felix de la Concha is fascinating because it’s an original reproduction of the Diego Velasquez oil painting “Las Meninas” from 1656. In it, Velasquez is in the back of the royal family and their servants. De la Concha painted it at his studio in Iowa City in 2010 and 2011 using a high-resolution, Internet image from the Prado Museum in Spain!
Image Courtesy of the Boca Raton Museum of Art
Go see the eclectic Thomas Hirschorn “Sculpture Direct II” in the Boca Museum‘s permanent collection while you’re there.
The 16-acre West Palm Beach tropical oasis, Mounts Botanical Garden, is so relaxing. In addition to more than 6,000 species of tropical and subtropical plants, Ribbit the Exhibit II is on through May 25, 2025.
Image Courtesy of the Mounts Botanical Garden
Above: “Tango Frogs” in the front and “Ribbitsville Ramblers” in the back. Metal worker and sculptor Andy Cobb welded each copper piece by hand and colored them with a natural patina.
Image by Laurie Heifetz
Besides wonderful meditative spaces, there’s a great vintage shop, which not only has gardening items, but also glasswork, jewelry and pouches. In addition, there’s a fabulous gift shop.
Image Courtesy of Flagler Museum
A must-see in Palm Beach is the 75-room, 120,000-square-foot, opulent Henry Morrison Flagler Museum, a National Historic Landmark. It was once the Whitehall Estate, a winter retreat for the Flagler family. Flagler was not only a partner with John D. Rockefeller in Standard Oil, but when he retired he created railroads and luxury hotels in Florida.
I love Flagler’s Private Railcar No. 91 (1886) which you can walk through and see the parlor, the kitchen, the private bedroom and bathroom, and eight berths! You can have afternoon tea in the adjacent Kenan Pavillion, which is like a 19th-century Beaux Art railway station.
Image Courtesy of Flagler Museum
“The Ethereal Worlds of Maxfield Parrish” exhibition, on view through April 20, 2025, is on loan from the National Museum of American Illustration in Newport, Rhode Island. This painting, “Sugar Hill,” is of the hill behind Parrish’s property in Plainfield, New Hampshire.
Image by Laurie Heifetz
Mizner Industries boasted that it was “makers of the only handmade roof and floor tiles in America. Celebrating the city’s centennial, the exhibition Boca Raton 1925-2025: Addison Mizner’s Legacy is on view through May 30, 2025 at The Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum. Mizner was an architect, city planner and industrialist who designed what is now The Boca Raton hotel and resort.
Image by Laurie Heifetz
Where does the name Boca Raton come from? Contrary to popular opinion, it’s not Spanish for “the mouth of the rat!
Image by Laurie Heifetz
Who knew that in 1968 IBM opened a manufacturing plant in Boca Raton where the IBM PC was created? The campus was totally closed by 1996. In 2023, it was rebranded as BRiC (Boca Raton Innovation Campus), a tech village.
I can’t wait to return to Palm Beach County to see what’s new! The Palm Beaches, as it’s also known, is proudly recognized as Florida’s Cultural Capital. For the latest information, please visit palmbeachculture.com.
